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No problem
can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.
--
Voltaire
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Planning a new venture is a difficult and confusing process.
No single article or even book can address all the things
that need to be done, as so many will be specific to that
venture and the order can vary greatly depending on many
factors. However, here we are trying to outline some of the
key steps to help you formulate a business plan and vision,
so you can outline a timeline that might work by revealing
many of the key steps that are not well thought through by
many new entrepreneurs. The time frame for the first ten
steps can be a few months or even a full year, but as much
should be done as possible before a large burn rate is
incurred that might greatly limit your time to learn and
develop the business plan. Using virtual teams of advisors,
not on the payroll, but available for consultation is often
a great way to keep expenses down, while not compromising on
quality or experience needed to develop you plan.
Typically an entrepreneur will start with a product idea and
that portion of the vision that is made up by that "core
technology", problem or idea. The problem is that this is
really only about 2% to 5% of starting a company, the other 95+%
is much harder and will require many diverse skills. Most
people start with this core idea or market need and that is not
a bad place to start, as it indicates the POSSIBILITY of a
market if everyone, or at least lots of people think like you,
and are willing to pay enough for your solution compared to
alternatives.
First
I recommend lots and lots of up front market research and then
creating a draft brochure of what the company might look like to
a consumer of the product or service. This does not mean
elaborate and expense quantitative studies, it is WAY too early
for that, but real world data gathering and interviews that get
people's reaction to your business proposal. This will allow
some surveying of your mother-in-law and others informally to
sharpen and focus your idea on a market and improve your
presentation before showing it to anyone "professional".
Smoothing out some kinks and identifying the key questions and
objections is critical. Then, after some validation by real
buyers, at a particular price point, you can begin to pull
together a real development and business plan for launching your
company.
A
good starting point is to read the short chapter on The
Marketing and Communications Pyramid". You can start at the top
and work down. Obviously there are many ways to go about this
task, and I know several that can be combined in the process to
validate the value of a business concept and begin to get a
handle on the risks, costs and opportunity. One very
experienced person can sometimes do this, but typically you will
need to draw on the experience of several people with
backgrounds in marketing, sales, finance, product development
and operations.
For a 22 step checklist and
to finish
this article click here
Other Articles For Any
Company:
-
Modes Of Management
-
A Simple Framework For Employee
Development
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The Messaging Communications Pyramid
Bob
Norton is CEO of C-Level Enterprises, which provides expertise
on rapid growth, mentoring, and coaching via Seminars, 1:1
Consulting and ebooks coming in March. He has been a full-time CEO since
1989 and now works with companies to develop and enhance visions,
maximize performance, and design businesses for
strategic advantage. He can be reached at
Bob@CLevelEnterprises.com.
Product Showcase
The Startup Manual
Learn new ways to
design, launch, hire, and
manage your startup for rapid growth. This 267
page binder and CD
will show you the proven
methods that will take
you from the raw idea stage to
a significant company.
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Testimonial On
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"Best Money I ever
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Thanks
for all the encouragement and support. Send Feedback To:
Bob@CLevelEnterprises.com
Articles On
Running Early-Stage Companies:
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Top 10
Rules For Startup Success
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The
Perfect Startup Model - A Metaphor for Success
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Startup Versus
Big Company - A Comparison of Operations Modes
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